


Footprints in the Snow

by Kazure



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-13
Updated: 2015-11-13
Packaged: 2018-05-01 10:02:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5201702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kazure/pseuds/Kazure
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cullen anxiously awaits the Herald's return from the ruins of Haven. When she arrives, he has something to tell her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Footprints in the Snow

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work for the Dragon Age fandom. Kudos and comments are always appreciated. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Haven had been lost, that was for certain, but the Herald of Andraste had been able to distract Corypheus for long enough that everyone had been able to escape before the avalanche. Well, almost everyone.

Against Cullen’s better judgment, he allowed the Herald to stay behind and take on Corypheus. Deep down he knew that no one but her would have been able to do it, but he wished that he could have taken her place. He didn’t want to imagine what she had gone up against, and how she was faring currently, though that was the one thing that he couldn’t get off of his mind.

He could see her, standing tall up against Corypheus’s grotesquely distorted figure, his archdemon flanking behind him. The thought alone made him shudder more than lyrium withdrawals ever had. There was no way that she could have escaped, though he still prayed to the Maker in every spare moment he had that she survived and that she would return to him.

_Just one more time._ He told himself. He would only check the mountain pass one more time before giving up. He had checked it countless times before and everyone, himself included, knew that this wouldn’t be his last time checking. They kept moving, which lessened the Herald’s chances of reaching them even more, but the more distance they put between themselves and Haven then the safer they were. That’s what the Herald would have wanted. That’s why she stayed behind in the first place; to protect all of Haven’s inhabitants even if it meant sacrificing herself.

That doesn’t go to say that she was without fear. When Cullen spoke to her in the Chantry, when he looked into her eyes, he saw the well-masked terror in her eyes. She had never wanted any of this, and she didn’t want to die. She would do what she had to though. She was resourceful and she was strong. That was why Cullen was so sure that she would return to him. That Kalora would return to him.

_If she makes it back here, I’ll never let her leave again. Not without telling her…_ Cullen shook the thoughts from his head. She needed to return before he would even… could even consider telling her of his feelings for her.

As he made his way to the mountain pass that all of Haven’s citizens had taken, he was shocked to see that all of their footprints, all of the packed down snow had already been covered by at least another foot of the frozen slush. He walked along the path, not far enough to lose sight of camp, and was joined by the rest of the Inner Circle. The Herald meant a lot to all of them, and none of them could bear the thought of her death.

They continued down the pass together, staying within sight of camp, and that was when they saw it. Faint outlines of a single set of footprints coming from the distance. Cullen’s eyes landed on the spot where they suddenly ended, and the lump that was lightly covered with snow. “There, it’s her!” he called out, running over to where Kalora had collapsed in the freshly fallen snow.  

“Thank the Maker,” Cassandra added, following Cullen with the rest of the Inner Circle.

Cullen pulled Kalora from the snow, tugging off his fur overcoat without a second thought and wrapping it around her. He lifted her up into his arms and held her tightly to his chest. He carried her back to camp as quickly as he could and took her over to the Healers. “Get her warmed up and treat her injuries.” The Chantry healers rushed over, flanked by mage healers who all set to work on taking care of their leader.

Cullen stepped back to let them do their work, but he didn’t venture far from their tent. He didn’t want to let Kalora out of his sight, lest she wake up. His plan to watch over her was foiled when he was called away by the rest of the Inner Circle, and when she awoke he was arguing with the others about how to proceed with the Inquisition.

He didn’t even realize that she had woken up, and it wasn’t until he heard singing that his attention was drawn back over towards her. She was sitting up on her cot, and everyone in the camp had started gathering around her, slowly joining in on the song that had been started by Mother Giselle.

It was ironic that he had just been arguing about the future of the Inquisition, but the only thing that the Inquisition truly needed was to be unified. All it took to unify the Inquisition in that moment was hope, and that’s what the Herald gave to them. Cullen, along with everyone else joined in and sang The Dawn Will Come. It was hard to keep a smile off of his face while watching the Inquisitor look around at her followers in awe. She didn’t realize that all of these people, most of which barely knew her, looked up to her as their leader.

Cullen made his way over to her. “Herald!” he called out, reaching for her. He didn’t notice at first, but she was still wearing his overcoat.

She turned around to look at him, “Oh! Cullen, hello.”

“How are you feeling? You weren’t in the best of shape when I… when we brought you back to camp.” Cullen reached up, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

“Much better now. A little sore but nothing I can’t handle. How is the rest of the Inquisition?”

“Everyone made it out with minimal losses. All of that is thanks to you.”

“I’m glad that I could save them. It was my duty to do so.”

“Even so, it took a lot of courage to put your own life on the line for everyone else.”

“I… Thank you. It means a lot.” Kalora looked down, fidgeting with her hands a bit. Her head suddenly jerked back up and she looked at him. “I still have your coat on. I’m so sorry, you must be freezing!” She said, frantically moving to take off the overcoat.

Cullen reached out a hand and rested it on her arm to calm her. “I’m perfectly fine my lady. Though if you wouldn’t mind, I would like to have a word with you… alone…”

“Thank you Commander. I don’t mind at all.” She said with a smile. “Lead the way.”

Cullen led her away from camp to a secluded alcove in the rocks. They were still close enough to the camp that if anyone needed them that they could be found, but they weren’t close enough that someone would stumble across them by accident.

“What did you want to talk about, Cullen?”

“I… well you see, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“I’ve been thinking of… well, I’ve been thinking of you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been thinking about how I… Maker’s breath.” Cullen looked down and away from the Herald, scratching the back of his head. “I’ve been wanting to tell you how I feel about you. When everything happened in Haven, I thought I’d lost my chance. Now I can’t bear the thought of something happening before I tell you…” he trailed off, uneasy about carrying on lest she not return his feelings.

Kalora walked over to him, putting her hands on his chest and looking up at him. “I think I know what you’re about to say, and you don’t need to. I feel the same way Cullen.”

Cullen brought a hand up to rest on her cheek before leaning in and softly, hesitantly, bringing his lips to hers. He then pulled back and looked into her eyes. Kalora smiled, and laughed softly, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down to kiss her again. It started off light and playful and soon became heated. Cullen pulled Kalora close into his body, deepening the kiss into something delightfully sinful. It wasn’t until they heard the clearing of someone’s throat that they pulled apart, Cullen coughing awkwardly.

Off to the side stood Solas, hands clasped behind his back. “Herald, if you have a moment, I’d like to speak with you.”

“Ah, yes Solas. Just give me one moment.”

“As you wish.” He stated plainly, turning and walking back to give them a shred of privacy.

“I need to go,” Kalora said, looking to Cullen. She reluctantly took off his coat and went to hand it to him when he pulled her in for another passionate kiss. This one was much shorter than the last, but left the Herald short of breath and with a flushed face.

“We’ll finish this later, Cullen. I’ll come find you.” She said quietly, smiling.

“I… yes, that sounds good.” He said with a smile, taking his coat and putting it back on.

With that, Kalora walked away from the alcove smiling and met with Solas, leaving Cullen to gather his thoughts and return to camp once he had composed himself.

* * *

 

_Factum!_

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Find more of my works on my blog, kaz-writes-things.tumblr.com


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